“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

It can be hard to imagine a world with peace when turning on the news and looking at the wars in Russia and the Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, and the Sudan. However we need not look far to find communities where peace is not just elusive, but the idea of peace seems to be an outright fallacy.

“My peace I leave with you…” 

After Charlottesville, I had the opportunity to talk with a colleague whom I also consider a friend, the Rev. Elaine Ellis Thomas. An Episcopal Priest, she was serving in Charlottesville during what I like to call the Tiki Torch era. She talked about the men with the Tiki Torches marching through the streets. They were menacing and threatening. I watched it unfold on screen and worried for and prayed for the people in the community, most of whom were nameless faces, but all were being terrorized as hate ran unchecked, at least for a season, through their community.

“My peace I give to you…” 

If the conflict in Israel and Palestine are examples to us, hate and terror produce lose lose situations where there are no real winners. It’ll be decades before we understand the magnitude of what has been lost, and even when the fighting is over, there will still be an absence of peace.

“I do not give as the world gives…” 

The fighting is an aberration with a departure from the semblance of peace. Is there ever really peace as long as we are content with others taking on violence so that we can remain nonviolent and pacifist while calling ourselves peacemakers if we are asking others to take on violence? 

It’s a paraphrase, but when I was talking with Dr. Ellis Thomas that day post Charlottesville Tiki Torches she said to me, “…we were only able to remain nonviolent because others were willing to take on violence for us, and those others were Antifa”. Lately, I’ve been sitting with the question: Who am I allowing to take on violence for me and then condemning them when the war is over?  Though I wasn’t alive then, I’d argue that it was soldiers returning home from the Vietnam War in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. 

In November of 2023, I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Wall that Heals. The Wall that Heals is a 3/4 replica of the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. The Wall travels to cities where it is invited and tells the story of the war and the lives that were lost and the lives that were transformed by the war. It only tells part of the story. It doesn’t tell the story of soldiers still battling the demons they took on during the war. It doesn’t tell the stories of post traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, or the broken families as many soldiers who returned home worked to relearn how to care for themselves outside of the battlefield, and how to reintegrate into society and care for their loved ones. The wall doesn’t tell the stories of the number of soldiers that will die by suicide or neglect because they have no peace. 

My uncle was one of those soldiers. He did three tours of duty in Vietnam. His death this year was exacerbated by the trauma of war and a lack of peace. Knowing he was one of God’s beloved children wasn’t enough to bring peace to his spirit from the horrors of war. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled…” 

In words spoken to the disciples, Jesus is attempting to calm their fears and anxieties. There is also assurance that there will be a place for them. It’s advice that feels easier said than done, and assurance that might cause one to wonder where the place is and how they are going to get there. When taken out of context, it can feel dismissive. Both physical and spiritual wars wreak havoc with trauma that is far reaching. 

As a follower of Christ, I hope my heart is troubled to the degree that it motivates me to action so that while I’m praying, I’m also working towards making those communities where I work, serve, and worship more just. As a part of the Baptismal vows in the United Methodist Church, there’s an agreement to resist evil in, “…whatever form it presents itself. (Book of Discipline) My agreement to this was a part of my reaffirmation of faith. It’s easy to understand war and genocide as evil. Another form of evil is remaining silent while the injustices of our day swirl around us. Whether it’s war, genocide, judgment, condemnation, racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, or any manner of phobias and isms of the day. Evil might also be harassing your neighbor who’s an immigrant or a soldier returning home from war. The quest for peace shouldn’t be just for a group or an individual or the church universal, but for the world. 

“…and do not be afraid…” 

I fear that far too many of us have taken a route that doesn’t move us toward peace. Instead, we’ve been led to camps and have firmly entrenched ourselves with people and positions that are antithetical to the Gospel of Christ. 

I am convinced that in order to experience peace, to keep peace from alluding us all, we’ll have to let go of the positions that we’ve held to so firmly that they’ve kept us from the experience of being with those whose views and beliefs are different from our own. The work of Christ in the world calls us out of religious and cultural homogeneity and into the world where we can celebrate the diversity of all people. It is through this celebration of diversity that we will begin to not just experience peace but to cultivate peace. 

As I’ve been writing this, the song that’s been swirling around me is Let There Be Peace On Earth. Written by Jill Jackson, the singer challenges us to let the quest for peace start with the individual. It’s closing line is, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”  If one didn’t know any better it might have been inspired by my ordination vows, 

“Will you, in the exercise of your ministry,
lead the people of God
to faith in Jesus Christ,
to participate in the life and work of the community and
to seek peace, justice, and freedom for all people?”-General Board of Ordained Ministry, United Methodist Church

I will, with the help of God.